SA-2 180（一八〇）

Thus have I heard:

Once, the Buddha was at Jetavana Anāthapiṇḍada-ārāma in Śrāvastī. At that time, a god with doubled radiance came to where the Buddha was in the middle of the night. His majestic radiance illuminated the entire Jetavana, shining brightly. He sat to one side and asked the Buddha, "Gautama! Can you cross the swift-flowing stream?"

At that time, the World-Honored One replied, "Indeed!"

The god said, "Gautama! This swift-flowing stream is deep and wide, with no bottom, and nothing to hold onto on the sides or to stand on in the middle. That you can cross it is truly amazing."

The Buddha said, "Indeed."

The god asked again, "Gautama! How can you cross this swift-flowing stream, with nothing to hold onto or to stand on?"

The Buddha replied to the god, "If I were lazy, I would certainly sink. If I sank, I would be carried away. If I am diligent, I will not sink. If I do not sink, I will not be carried away. In this great flood, with nothing to hold onto or to stand on, I can cross this great swift-flowing stream."

The god then praised, "Excellent! Excellent! It is truly rare for a monk to be able to cross this swift-flowing stream without anything to hold onto or to stand on!"

The god further praised in verse:

I have seen before a brahmin enter nirvana, long ago
abandoning aversion and delight, able to cross over the world's attachments.

At that time, after this god had spoken this verse, he joyfully returned to his palace.

Maudgalyāyana and the celestial maiden, the four wheel-turning kings, topknot
hair, sleep and disgust, extremely difficult to exhaust, the swift
current of the Yāmuna, unfettered, liberated, able to attain liberation.